Palm Trees & Peonies

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hello 2012! Thank goodness for DVR because I have been so busy I have not had time to catch up on all my shows...I've actually started to forget what shows I watch and when they are really on, I just watch what's in the recorded section.
Currently catching up SNL from this past weekend. Daniel Radcliffe is hosting and he's doing a great job. After the weekend I heard Lana Del Ray got a lot of flack for a bad performance so I need to see this for myself. Last week I downloaded some of her songs from her EP and I love Video Games. I remember when Taylor Swift first started out and she wasn't that great live, but all the flack made her work extremely hard at it and now she sounds amazing live. Taylor sang her song with The Civil Wars last week for the first time live and wow was it amazing!
This past weekend GymJam had its first meet down in Orange County at Team OC. My best friend's new house is 6 miles away from where the meet was so I got to stay another weekend with her. That makes 3 in a row and every weekend of 2012...we joke that I'm their weekend roommate. 2012 is off to a great start, lots of fun, and keeping my resolutions so far. Eating healthy, check. Working out regularly, check. Working hard at work, check. Taking more pictures, check! Making dreams come true, check ;)

k. kids: none yet, hopefully one day, but let's start with a boyfriend.

l. live: Sherman Oaks, CA ...been here a year, the valley and north LA is still very new to me as I grew up in North Orange County and went to school in Boise, ID.

m. mother's name: Kim

n. nicknames: Tay, college people only=TayJay, very few people=taytay

o. overnight hospital stays: none recently... last time I can think of is ankle surgery when I was 13

p. pet peeves: i like the roll of toilet paper coming over not under! i fix it so its over

q. quote from a movie: "Do not look at the world though your head; look at it through your heart." -Eat, Pray, Love so many good quotes from this movie!

r. right or left handed: righty.

s. siblings: 2 younger sisters Kara and Cami

t. time you wake up: it depends on what time I go to bed, but between 7:40-9am every morning. I feel like I lose valuable time when I sleep in.

u. underwear: i wear them...victorias secret mostly...

v. vegetable you hate: hmmm, i love veggies, but i got through phases of not liking something if i eat to much of it

w. what makes you run late: being lazy...doddling

x. xrays you've had: teeth, ankle (multiple times), elbow, neck

y. yummy food that you make: I LOVE to cook and bake when I have the money to buy all the ingredients. Recently I cooked apricot crusted pork chops and baked from scratch banana bread. I make a good chicken salad thanks to my friend Ruthie.

I discovered Pressed Juicery via Tracy Anderson and her metamorphasis program. I am addicted to these juices. They are a little pricey for my budget, but sooo delicious and nutritious too. Pure, organic, non pasteurized, pressed juice=yum. The ones with ginger in them are the best and on my second trip there last Thursday they had a new menu! I wish they would open another closet sized store in the valley by me in Sherman Oaks, but Brentwood is not that far and I go once a week to workout along the beach with a friend so it's perfect. The juices are around $6.50 each and they ship nationwide and have a truck in Malibu.

I put myself on a diet... and realized how bad my eating habits are and really thinking about where they started. I was a full time gymnast till I was 23 and growing up I remember so many people telling me..oh you work out a lot so you can eat that stuff. I believed them and ate away. Discovering my love for ice cream in the 6th grade when I could buy it at school and thinking back I was a real addict begging my friends for dimes and nickels so I could get my sugar fix. It continued into high school where I would get 50 cent cookies and fries and reeses, wow I ate bad, but at least I ate it in moderation.

The college came, alcohol and a dining hall. I didn't gain a freshman 15..but I did gain some. My heaviest is hard to admit and I think I just always thought it was okay because I worked out so much. Then gymnastics ends and these realizations of my bad eating habits truly arise.

When I started Tracy Anderson I saw results without following her diet, but then I incorporated it little by little, and saw even better results. Then came summer, more alcohol, chips & salsa, mom's cooking, and peanut butter & vanilla ice cream. End of summer=fat me..not anywhere near my heaviest, but about 5 pounds than in June..

So...healthy me has arrived and it includes kale, beets, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and lots of other veggies, fruits, and whole foods.
No cheese, bread, sugar, or late night binge eating.

Anyways this is a proclamation I have made many a times. But I know I can do it this time, I'm much more informed and have more of a will to try to do it.

Pressed Juicery yummyness will have to occur only every other or every 3 weeks because of my wallet, but they are soooo good!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I've been wanting a black leather jacket for the last 5 years!
Today I finally got one at Target of all places!
This is a staple I was actually prepared to spend some money on and by chance came across a really comfortable one at Target, yay! I always borrow my sisters when I'm home and now I finally have a jacket for fall/winter.

I love Target, I could by so much stuff I don't need. I think it's because it is where I went with my mom all the time while growing up and home/house stuff is all so pretty to me.

It's funny to be in this stage of life, while I have some friends that are married and having babies or living with their boyfriends. I am still just dating and having fun and figuring everything out. My daily schedule right now revolves around me and it's so crazy for me to think I could handle what my friends and cousin Aly is going through right now.

Anyways, it puts it all into perspective of just how quickly life changes!
<3 T
ps-im about to watch the finale of season 8 friends where Rachel has her baby so yes I had baby on the brain from that :)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ten years ago I woke up on a Tuesday to my mom in the shower and my dad calling on the phone telling me to turn on the tv. I saw a newscast of a burning building on the tv that sat on my dads dresser. I was unfazed. Huh I wondered..oh look a plane hit a building on accident. I had no idea what the World Trade Center was. I had no idea of the magnitude of the situation. My dad made me get my mom out of the shower and she freaked out. Looking back I understand how it must have been horrifying as a parent to discover your nation under attack. What does this mean for America. Her cousin had worked in the world trade center, but there offices had been moved. She spent all morning calling her relatives on the east coast.

As I vaguely remeber getting ready for school and then distinctly remember sitting down in the living room and watching as the buildings fell. That's when it really hit me, oh my gosh these buildings fell and there must have been a whole bunch of people inside. I remember the somber day in school as most of the teachers barely taught anything..they mostly taught us about the world trade center and I remember the moment of silence during science class.

My parents had just gone to visit my Uncle in Philadelphia, exactly one month before and had gone to the city and have pictures in front of the WTC. It's one of the only places I feel like my dad has been that I haven't. I had just gone on my 8th grade Washington DC trip in March 2001. Looking back now I see how naive I was about flying and security and all these bad things that could really happen in the world. 9/11/01 made me grow up and I think that is when I really discovered the need to travel, the need to understand the world, and the hope for peace.

New York City is the one city I have never been to and have been wanting to go to for so long. My little sister gets to go in December and I am so jealous! I've been watching friends from season 1-the end and I am on the end of season 7. All of the screen shots of the city makes me want to not only go there but live there. I love los angeles and I dont think i could leave it, but somehow there is this new need and hunger to become a new yorker or experience the east coast. from the hamptons to suburbs in connecticut to boston to the jersey shore. that and the south are the places i havent discovered yet in america.

I feel so blessed for the life I have been given. Today I finally hiked Runyan Canyon and it was a great way to remember the fallen on that day. Looking out over Los Angeles and the beauty of the city made me think more about how a city came together after a tragedy and what the true meaning of tragedy and horror means.

It's been a beautiful Sunday. Good friends, cleaning, cooking, shopping, hiking, and remembering.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Happy Saturday,
Tonight I'm going to a karaoke bar to celebrate my boss/good friend's birthday! Last year she went big for her 40th and I partied hard as it was one of my first LA adventures and was at the Roosevelt pool. This year I'm ready to have some fun again and hopefully sing some karaoke yeah!

Been singing a lot in the shower, in the car, pretty much everywhere...the writing juices are starting to flow.
But currently on my playlist is:

Adele-Someone Like You, ever since her MTV movie award performance I am in LOVE with this song.Lady Antebellum-Wanted You More, there new album comes out soon, psyched!Matt Nathanson & Mat Kearney's new albums :)Gwen Stefani-takin me back to Love Angel Music Baby since TaySwift covered her at her concertJason Reeves-The LovesickLady Gaga-You & I-instant classicColbie Caillat-Brighter Than The Sun-just makes you feel happyNicki Minaj- Super BassFoster the People-Helena BeatToby Keith-Made in America, good september 11th reminder and classic country, american pride!